Managing a group of printing devices in, for instance, a large enterprise is an important undertaking to make the most efficient use of the printing devices and materials and components used in the printing devices. Printing device management entails (1) periodic gathering data from printing devices, status tracking, manipulating printing device settings, updating printing device software, etc. as well as (2) receiving asynchronous notification of service need from the printer. Failure to properly manage printing devices can result in printing device down time, printing devices that have operational software that is incompatible with one or more computers that otherwise could utilize the printing device, inefficient ordering of replacement supplied, etc.—all of which result in a higher operational cost for the printing devices.
More and more enterprises utilize modern printing devices that include an embedded web server and/or embedded web client that may be implemented, for example, using an embedded virtual machine that enable the printing devices to handle many printing device management functions. Using such web client capabilities, printing devices can be configured to actively access a network website to, for example, automatically report usage and/or maintenance data, re-order consumable supplies, download new versions of software, etc.
However, many legacy printing devices remain in service that do not support such active functionality and must be accommodated in printing device management systems. There is also a trend to make printing devices that are less expensive because they lack large amounts of memory, web servers, web clients, active reporting features, etc. Many new printing devices are available that emphasize a small footprint to make the printing devices more desktop friendly.
An up-to-date printing device management system must take into account legacy printing devices and low-end printing devices as well as more modern and highly functional printing devices so that an entire range of printing devices may be utilized in a single system without impacting printing device management efficiency.